Thursday, 25 October 2012

Hitch In Time

The Children's Film Foundation rattled out about 5 films a year for over 30 years. Never less than entertaining they would occasionally pop up on telly during the summer holidays in the 70s/early 80s or if you were lucky were shown in assembly at school on 16mm.

Patrick Troughton's in this. Hooray! Have guess what sort of part he plays?Go on.I'll give you multiple choice answers:

A Lollypop lady

A New York artist who slowly goes insane while struggling to pay his bills, work on his paintings, and care for his two female roommates, which leads him taking to the grim and gritty streets after dark and randomly killing tramps with a power drill.

A kindly uncle figure who invents a time machine.

(I'll give you a clue if you still haven't guessed - it's not '1'.)

A Hitch In Time is a quant little runaround with two slightly posh children (aren't they always?) who stumble across the second Doctor - ahem, sorry a dotty inventor who has created a time machine. Before you can say the word 'gullible' they've been transported back to re-live that morning at school.

He's not Doctor Who because he has facial hair, alright?

You can tell it's high tech because it has light bulbs flashing on and off.

The time travel effects are particularly sweet in that they consist of the camera zooming in and out and some off focus lights flashing.

During each adventure they happen across a ancestor of their teacher 'Sniffy' Kemp, brilliantly played by Drop The Dead Donkey's Jeff Rawle. As you can see from the above two screen shots the 'ageing' make-up was done by smearing Jeff's hair with grey paint and giving him a pair of glasses. Class.

At one point they land up a tree. Which is quite impressive (well - it impressed me) and meet Robin Hood. If you try to imagine a really shit version of the Time Bandits made for about 14 quid then you've pretty much got the idea.

Pat acting.

That said, it is charming and has the most incredible radiophonic soundtrack by Twins of Evil and Vampire Lovers composer Harry Robertson. It's worth tracking down just for that, I'll be honest.